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Ui-iUM  CURES 


OPINIONS  OF  AMERICAN  AND  EUROPEAN  PHYSICIANS  IN 
CHINA  AS  TO  THE  MEDICAL  AND  GOVERNMENTAL  AID 
THAT  SHOULD  BE  GIVEN  TO  THOSE  COMPELLED  BY 
ANTI-OPIUM  LEGISLATION  IN  MANY  LANDS  TO 
BREAK  OFF  THE  OPIUM  HABIT  AND  TO 
OTHERS  VOLUNTARILY  TURNING  FROM  IT 


EDITED  BY 

Rev.  WILBUR  F.  CRAFTS,  Ph.D. 

SUPERINTENDENT  OF  THE  INTERNATIONAL  REFORM  BUREAU, 

Author  of  “Intoxicants  and  Opium  in  All  Times  and  Lands,”  “A  Primer  of  Inter 
nationalism,”  Princeton  Lectures  on  “Practical  Christian  Sociology,”  etc. 

[Third  Abridged  Edition.] 


Dr.  David  T.  Stewart,  Superintendent  of  Elizabeth  Blake  Hospital,  Soochow,  in 
letter  to  editor:  “The  subject  you  are  taking  up  is  certainly  a very  interesting 
•one,  and  on  its  success  in  a large  measure  depends  the  future  of  this  great  nation. 
Take  away  opium  from  the  Chinese  and  who  can  tell  what  a powerful  people  they 
•will  be?” 


INTERNATIONAL  REFORM  BUREAU, 

206  Pennsylvania  Avenue,  s.  e.,  Washington,  D.  C. 


“OPIUM  CURES.” 

[Extracts  from  pamphlet  on  “Opium  Cures”  by  Wilbur  F.  Crafts.] 

An  anti-opium  “wave  of  reform”  swept  round  the  world  in  the  quad- 
reunium  1903  to  1907.  In  the  Philippines,  New  Zealand,  Australia  and 
South  Africa  the  importation  of  opium  was  in  those  years  prohibited,  and 
the  British  Parliament  condemned  and  ordered  the  “speedy  close”  of  the 
Indo-Chinese  opium  trade  which  emboldened  China  to  close  its  opium  dens. 

Both  Britain  and  China  are  moving  too  slowly  because  revenue  fights 
at  every  step  the  march  of  righteousness.  But  the  opium  traffic  is  mani- 
festly doomed.  To  assure  success  in  the  Herculean  task  of  emancipating 
the  Chinese  from  this  vice  in  China  and  in  the  Philippines,  President  Roose- 
velt has  united  all  the  governments  having  permanent  territorial  possessions 
in  eastern  Asia,  namely,  China,  Japan,  Britain,  France,  Italy,  Holland, 
and  the  United  States,  in  an  Anti-opium  Joint  Commission,  whose  work 
can  hardly  fail  to  extend  until  the  opium  traffic  joins  piracy  and  slavery 
in  the  limbo  of  crimes  against  civilization. 

The  recent  acts  in  this  drama  are  recorded  in  my  booklet  entitled, 
“A  Primer  of  Internationalism,”  and  preceding  acts  in  “Intoxicants 
and  Opium  in  All  Times  and  Lands.” 

This  pamphlet  only  aims  to  bring  to  China  and  the  Chinese  everywhere, 
and  their  friends  and  helpers,  the  best  medical  advice  as  to  what  should  be 
done  by  governments  and  individuals  to  aid  opium  users  in  breaking  from 
the  slavery  that  was  thrust  upon  China,  when  its  law  prohibited  opium  except 
as  a medicine,  by  what  Mr.  Gladstone  called  ‘ ‘the  wickedest  wars  of  history,” 
the  opium  wars  of  1840,  1858  and  1861.  The  world  was  ready  to  forgive 
and  forget  those  wars  when,  on  May  30,  1906,  the  British  Parliament 
unanimously  voted  “that  the  Indo-Chinese  opium  trade  is  morally  inde- 
fensible, and  the  Government  is  instructed  to  bring  it  to  a speedy  close.” 

The  Government  has  not  been  “speedy”  in  obeying  that  mandate, 
and  the  Christian  citizens  of  the  British  Empire,  who  are  demanding  that 
the  vote  shall  be  fully  and  promptly  obeyed,  should  be  reenforced  by  the 
almost  irresistable  might  of  international  public  opinion,  expressing  itself 
through  courteous  resolutions,  not  only  of  missionary  and  reform  societies 
but  also  of  chambers  of  commerce,  since  ‘ ‘the  opium  traffic  is  the  foe  of  the 
honest  trade  of  every  nation.” 

But  in  this  pamphlet  we  aim  to  show  more  especially  what  action, 
governmental  and  medical,  is  needed  in  China  and  wherever  the  Chinese 
have  spread  this  deadly  drug,  to  meet  the  immediate  exigency  caused  by 
nearly  a million  people  being  cut  off  by  legislation  from  the  vice  which  they 
were  previously  allowed  to  indulge. 

The  writer,  being  in  China  when  the  opium  dens  were  being  closed  by 
imperial  decree,  saw  new  perils  arising  from  the  sale  of  alleged  ‘ ‘opium  cures,” 
all  of  them  containing  opium  in  some  form,  to  be  eaten  or  drunk.  He 
heard  there  and  in  the  Philippines  the  plea  of  merchants  and  officials 
interested  in  holding  on  to  opium  revenues  so  long  as  possible,  that  five  or 
ten  years  would  be  necessary  for  opium  sots  to  “taper  off.”  The  Chinese 


2 


Government,  though  it  had  ordered  opium  dens  closed  in  six  months,  had 
spoken  of  ten  years  allowance  for  aged  opium  sots  to  accomplish  gradual 
emancipation. 

On  this  account  he  sought  from  the  skilled  physicians  in  the  missionary 
hospitals  of  China,  graduates  of  the  best  medical  schools  of  Europe  and 
America,  authoritative  information  on  this  “tapering  off”  theory  and  re- 
lated matters. 

Their  replies  are  found  in  the  following  pages  which  we  ask  philanthro- 
pists to  aid  us  in  sending  in  Chinese  and  English  to  the  millions  who  need 
this  important  information. 

The  'consensus  of  these  replies  (with  minor  variations)  is : 

1.  That  the  worst  opium  sots  can  be  cured  in  a month,  while  the 
majority  of  opium  users  can  stop  at  once,  without  harm,  as  prisoners  do, 
especially  if  opium  prohibition  has  put  them  in  like  case — that  they  can  not 
get  the  drug. 

2.  That  whatever  slight  “tapering”  is  in  rare  cases  permissible  should 
be  done  in  a hospital  or  at  least  through  medical  prescription,  and  that  it 
is  foolish  to  suppose  any  sot,  with  opium  dens  accessible,  will  himself  drop 
the  habit  by  a sliding  scale. 

3.  That  like  does  not  cure  like  in  the  case  of  alleged  “opium  cures” 
made  wholly  or  in  part  of  opium,  and  that  the  sale  of  all  such  “cures” 
should  be  suppressed. 

4.  That  moral  and  legal  means  should  be  used  to  prevent  the  abuse 
of  the  exception  made  in  all  anti-opium  legislation  for  the  use  of  the  drug 
in  prescriptions  of  qualified  physicians.  The  best  suggestion  on  this  point 
is  that  only  in  public  hospitals  should  such  prescription  be  permissible. 
This  should  certainly  be  the  law  in  China  and  in  the  Philippines. 

The  writer  made  careful  inquiry  as  to  the  treatment  of  opium  sots  in  the 
Hong  Kong  prison.  The  chief  warden  said  that  opium-using  prisoners, 
on  being  jailed,  dramatically  protested  they  ‘ ‘could  not  live  without 
opium.”  The  answer  would  be  not  denial  but  seeming  postponement. 
“Tomorrow”  to  them  meant  indulgence,  but  to  the  keeper  it  meant  treat- 
ment. On  the  morrow  there  would  be  a yet  more  dramatic  “scene”  that 
might  be  called,  “Dope  or  die.”  The  keeper  would  prove  to  be  a believer 
in  Mark  Twain’s  motto,  “Never  put  off  till  tomorrow  what  you  can  do  day 
after  tomorrow  just  as  well."  At  last,  when  the  prisoner  had  discovered  he 
‘could  really  live  two  or  three  days  without  dope,  but  was  miserable  enough 
to  listen  to  advice,  he  would  be  assured  by  the  keeper  that  a glass  of  water 
would  relieve  him  of  his  misery.  There  is  nothing  an  opium  fiend  so  much 
loathes  as  water,  but  he  would  finally  conclude  to  try  the  remedy.  The 
water  would  serve  as  an  emetic.  A very  foul  stomach  would  be  cleaned  out, 
and  a hot  bath  and  long  sleep  would  complete  the  cure.  Only  in  very  rare 
instances  is  the  prison  hospital  resorted  to,  and  then  only  for  a brief  period. 
The  opjium  sot  usually  takes  up  his  prison  task  as  quickly  and  works  as 
steadily  as  other  prisoners.  This  prison  record  shows  the  possibility  of  an 
immediate  break  without  injury.  Surely  government  should  by  drastic 

3 


prohibition  give  opium  sots  out  of  jail  an  equal  chance  for  swift  emancipa- 
tion, and  provide  also  for  prevention  by  making  it  impossible  to  get  opium 
outside  of  a hospital. 

There  is  another  peril  that  all  friends  of  China  should  provide  against, 
namely,  that  the  beer  saloon  shall  take  the  place  of  the  abolished  opium 
dens.  China  has  been  a prohibition  country  since  the  fourth  century, 
except  as  foreign  trade  and  treaties  have  broken  down  its  customs  and  laws 
both  as  to  intoxicants  and  opium.  ‘ ‘Young  China,”  aping  the  follies  of  the 
West  in  its  blind  effort  to  be  “progressive,”  thinks  it  can  prove  itself  so  by 
doing  three  things:  whistling,  smoking  cigarettes,  and  drinking  beer. 
We  have  therefore  included  in  this  pamphlet,  which  we  hope  may  be  trans- 
lated into  Chinese  and  circulated  wherever  the  Chinese  dwell,  “Scientific 
Testimony  on  Beer.”*  In  the  fight  against  beer  we  must  probably  rely  upon 
educational  rather  than  legislational  action.  In  every  missionary  school 
in  China  at  least — if  possible  in  Government  schools  and  colleges — and  also 
by  posters  such  as  are  used  for  like  purpose  in  French  and  British  cities, 
the  warnings  of  science  against  beer  should  swiftly  be  made  known. 

En  Route,  April  ii,  1908.  WTlbur  F.  Crafts. 


ALCOHOLISM  AND  PHYSICAL  DEGENERACY. 

[The  strongest  sentences  in  French  and  British  Municipal  posters  have  been  combined  by 
the  International  Reform  Bureau’s  Council  for  New  South  Wales.  His  Grace  the  Archbishop. of 
Sydney,  Chairman,  in  the  above  poster,  which  is  recommended  for  adoption  by  mayors,  city 
councils,  boards  of  health,  and  boards  of  education  in  all  lands.] 

From  Proceedings  French  Supervising  Council  of  Public  Aid,  1902  Report  by  Prof.  Debove 
Dean  of  the.  Faculty  of  Medicine. 

Alcoholism  is  the  chronic  poisoning  which  results  from  the  habitual  use  of 
alcohol,  even  when  the  latter  would  not  produce  drunkenness. 

It  is  an  error  to  say  that  alcohol  is  necessary  to  workmen  who  engage  in  fatiguing  labour;  that 
it  gives  heart  to  work,  or  that  it  repairs  strength.  The  artificial  excitation  which  it  produces  gives 
place  very  quickly  to  nervous  depression  and  feebleness. 

The  habit  of  drinking  entails  disaffection  from  the  family,  forgetfulness  of  all  duties  to  society 
distaste  for  work,  misery,  theft  and  crime.  It  leads  at  the  least  to  the  hospital,  for  alcohol  engenders 
the  most  varied  maladies;  paralysis,  lunacy,  disease  of  the  stomach  and  liver,  dropsy.  It  is  one  of 
the  most  frequent  causes  of  tuberculosis.  Finally,  it  complicates  and  aggravates  all  acute  maladies. 
Typhoid  fever,  pneumonia,  erysipelas,  which  would  be  mild  in  the  case  of  a sober  man  quickly  carry 
off  the  alcoholic  drinker.  The  hygenic  faults  of  parents  fall  upon  their  children.  If  the  latter  survive 
the  first  months  they  are  threatened  with  idiocy  or  epilepsy,  or,  still  worse,  they  are  carried  off  a little 
later  by  tuberculosis,  meningitis  or  phthisis. 

For  the  health  of  the  individual,  for  the  existence  of  the  family,  for  the  future  of  the  nation,  alcohol 
is  one  of  the  most  terrible  scoirrges. 

[Five  paragraphs  above  are  from  posters  put  up  by  French  city  governments  to  check  national 
decay  that  has  led  to  deaths  exceeding  births.  What  follows  is  from  British  Parliamentary  Report 
on  Physical  Deterioration,  prompted  by  failure  of  a majority  of  candidates  for  enlistment  in  British 
Army  to  pass  physical  examinations.  In  consequence,  British  city  governments  post  these  extracts 
as  a warning,  not  only  in  Great  Britain  as  a cure  but  also  in  athletic  Australia  as  a preventive.  For 
one  or  other  of  these  reasons  such  a warning  should  be  posted  in  every  city  and  town  of  the  world, 
and  read  in  the  schools.] 

The  continued  use  of  alcohol,  whether  in  form  of  beer,  wine  or  spirits,  even 
though  not  to  the  extent  of  drunkenness,  often  leads  to  chronic  poisoning 

Of  61,215  people  the  average  deaths  per  year  by  insurance  tables  will  be  i,ooo.  Of  61,215  liquor 
sellers,  the  death  average  is  1,642.  Of  61,215  Rechabites  (abstainers)  the  death  average  is  560. 

Sir  Frederick  Treves,  Physician  to  King  Edward,  declares  that  alcohol  is  an  insiduous  poison, 
and  should  be  subject  to  the  same  strict  limitation  as  opium,  morphia  or  strychnine  and  that  its 
supposed  stimulating  effects  are  delusive. 

Respectfully  submitted  for  consideration  of  citizens  by Mayor. 


*See  p.  13!. 


4 


Medical  opinions  came  in  response  to  following  circular  of  inquiry; 
MEMORANDUM  FROM  INTERNATIONAL  REFORM  BUREAU, 

206  Pennsylvania  Ave.,  s.  e.,  Washington,  D.  C.,  U.  S.  A. 

Please  send  your  opinion  as  a Medical  Missionary  in  China  to  our  Bu- 
reau, at  above  address,  to  be  presented  with  a few  others  to  President 
Roosevelt,  who  has  just  secured  appointment  of  a Joint  Commission  for 
cooperative  international  action  in  suppression  of  the  vicious  uses  of  the 
opium  in  eastern  Asia.  The  danger  is  that  those  interested  in  opium 
revenue  will  again  plead,  as  they  have  done  successfully  in  many  cases  of 
previous  ineffective  legislation,  that  ‘ ‘opium  users  would  be  killed  if  opium 
dens  were  suddenly  closed,”  and  that  legislatively  and  medicinally  a long 
‘ ‘tapering  off”  period  of  ten  years  or  five  or  three  should  be  allowed.  Acting 
Gov.  May  of  Hong  Kong,  tells  me  his  prison  positively  disproves  this,  as  no 
bad  results  follow  an  instantaneous  breaking  off  at  the  time  of  arrest. 
Such  men  do  their  job  at  once  and  as  regularly  as  other  prisoners.  The 
United  States  Congress  allowed  three  years,  terminating  Mar.  ist.  1908, 
for  “tapering  off”  in  the  Philippines.*  H.  E.  Viceroy  Yuan  Shih  kai 
accompanies  his  sudden  closing  of  opium  dens  in  North  China  with  the 
opening  of  a special  opium  hospital  adjoining  his  Yamen,  where  I saw 
the  recovering  victims  examined  by  Dr.  Peck,  all  doing  well  and  about 
ready  to  be  dismissed  after  short  treatment. 

The  authoritative  word  will  be  that  of  the  medical  missionary,  and  we 
shall  welcome  your  opinion — 

1.  Whether  opium  users  need  a long  period  for  ‘ ‘tapering  off”. 

2.  Whether  this  should  be  provided  by  continuing  opium  dens  or  by 
hospital  treatment. 

3.  What  action  should  be  taken  by  Government  with  reference  to 
alleged  opium  cures  that  continue  the  use  of  opium  in  pills  or  other  form.f 

4.  What  safeguards  are  needed  against  the  abuse  of  the  exceptions 
allowing  opium  to  be  prescribed  by  physicians. 

Thanking  you  in  advance  for  your  reply, 

I am,  Yours  for  a “better  world”  here  and  now, 

Wilbur  F.  Crafts. 

En  Route  from  Philippines  to  Australia,  June  2,  1907. 


*The  editor  having  reported  the  opium  situation  to  President  Roosevelt,  the 
following  cablegram  was  sent  from  Washington  to  Manila  by  the  Bureau  of  Insular 
Affairs  of  the  War  Department  on  July  20,  1907  : “W.  F.  Crafts  has  written  intimating 
some  of  the  internal  revenue  officials  are  inclined  to  recommend  postponement  of  the 
date  within  which  Congressional  opium  prohibition  to  become  effective.  Secretary 
of  War  writes  me  to  cable  on  no  account  must  any  hope  be  entertained  that  Congres- 
sional limitation  will  be  postponed  or  in  any  way  modified;  that  a warning  ought  to  be 
issued  immediately  calling  attention  to  the  coming  into  operation  of  prohibitory 
statute,  and  that  all  persons  must  be  prepared  to  have  it  strictly  enforced.”  Accord- 
ingly prohibition  took  effect  Mar.  i,  1908. 

fThe  famous  ‘‘Malay  Cure”  spread.s  the  average  daily  dose  of  opium  over  a 
week.  The  Shanghai  Conference  of  Medical  Missionaries  in  1907  was  unanimously 
against  it. 


5 


[From  “National  Righteousness,"  B.  Broomall,  Editor.] 

A WORLD-ENCIRCLING  “WAVE”  OF  ANTI-OPIUM  REFORM. 

JAPAN. 

“The  Opium  Law  of  Japan  forbids  importation,  the  possession,  and  the  use 
of  the  drug  except  as  a medicine ; and  it  is  kept  to  the  letter  in  a population  of 
45  000,000.” 

Article  159. 

“Whosoever  imports,  manufactures,  or  sells  opium,  or  has  in  his  possession 
opium  with  the  object  of  selling  it,  shall  be  pvmished  with  penal  servitude  for  a period 
not  exceeding  seven  (7)  years.” 

Article  162. 

‘ ‘ Every  individual  who  smokes  or  eats  opium  shall  be  ptmished  with  penal  servi- 
tude for  a period  not  exceeding  three  (3)  years.” — Revised  Draft  of  the  New  Penal  Code 
of  Japan. 

The  quantity  of  opium  used  in  Japan  in  a year  is  9^  chests. — See  the  Annual 
Report  of  the  Central  Sanitary  Bureau,  Tokyo,  1902. 

[“The  preparation  and  importation  of  patent  medicines  is  carefully  watched  and 
supervised  by  the  Government,  in  order  that  the  fatal  drug  may  not  come  into  the 
country  that  wav.”] 

NEW  ZEALAND. 

Extracts  from  an  Act  to  prohibit  the  Importation  or  Smoking  of  Opium. — “It is 
imlawful  for  any  person  to  import  into  the  Colony  Opium  in  any  form  suitable  for 
smoking.” 

“Every  person  who  commits  a breach  of  this  section  is  liable  for  each  offence  to  a 
penalty  not  exceeding  one  hundred  pounds.” 

“If  any  person  is  found  smoking  Opium,  or  permitting  or  abetting  the  smoking 
of  Opium, he  shall  be  liable  to  a penalty  not  exceeding  ten  pounds.” 

AUSTRALIA. 

The  AUSTRALIAN  COMMONWEALTH  has  prohibited  the  importation  of  Opium. 

THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  THE  PHILIPPINES. 

The  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT  has  enacted  that  from  the  ist  of  March,  1908, 
it  shall  be  unlawful  to  import  into  the  Philippine  Islands,  Opium,  in  whatever  form, 
except  by  the  Government. 

THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  CHINA. 

Between  these  coimtries  the  importation  of  Opium  is  forbidden  by  Treaty. 

RUSSIA  AND  CHINA. 

Between  these  countries  the  importation  of  Opium  is  forbidden  by  Treaty. 

BRAZIL  AND  CHINA. 

Between  these  countries  the  importation  of  Opium  is  forbidden  by  Treaty. 

CHINA. 

And  now  China,  alarmed  at  the  awful  prevalence  of  Opium  smoking,  has  resolved 
to  suppress  the  habit. 

PRESENT  OPIUM  POLICY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 

{Quotations  from  the  correspondence  recently  presented  to  Parliament.) 

“His  Majesty’s  Government  would  undertake  to  limit  the  quantity  of  Opium 
(Bengal  and  Malwa)  exported  from  India  to  countries  beyond  the  seas  to  61,000  chests 
in  1908,  56,800  chests  in  1909,  and  51,700  chests  in  1910. 

It  is  contended  that  this  limitation  of  the  total  export  from  India  will  secure  the 
reduction  of  one-tenth  of  the  Indian  Opium  imported  into  China  as  effectually  as  a 
limitation  on  the  basis  proposed  by  China  would  do. 

“And  the  view  of  the  Government  of  India  is  that  such  a standard  ought  to  satisfy 
the  Chinese  Government  for  the  present! 

BUT  WHAT  IS  OPIUM  DOING  IN  CHINA? 

“Opium  is  not  only  robbing  the  Chinese  of  millions  of  money,  year  by  year,  but 
is  actually  destroying  them  as  a people.  It  undermines  the  constitution,  ruins  the 
health,  and  shortens  the  life  of  the  smoker,  destroys  every  domestic  happiness  and 
prosperity,  and  is  gradually  effecting  the  physical,  mental  and  moral  deterioration 
of  the  nation  as  a nation. 

“We  have  inflicted  a terrible  wrong  on  the  people  of  China,  and  it  is  our  solemn 
duty  to  try  to  undo  it  by  abandoning  the  trade  at  once  and  for  ever  ourselves,  and  by 
giving  them  every  sympathy  and  aid  in  our  power  in  their  attempt  to  banish  the  curse 
from  within  their  own  borders.  — Rev.  Dr.  Griffith  John. 

6 


Opinions  of  American  and  European  Physicians  in  China  as  to 
THE  Best  Aid,  Medical  and  Governmental,  to  be  Given  to  Those 
Who,  Voluntarily,  or  Under  Compulsion,  are  Giving  up  the  Vicious 
Uses  of  Opium. 

W.  H.  Park,  M.  D.,  Soochow  Hospital,  Soochow,  China,  June  i8,  1907, 

American  Southern  Methodist  Mission: 

[Dr.  Wm.  Hector  Park  was  born  in  Georgia,  U.  S.  A.,  Oct.  27th,  1858, 
and  came  to  China  as  medical  missionary  in  1862.  Has  always  run  an  opium 
refuge  in  connection  with  his  hospital.  Compiled  the  pamphlet,  ‘ ‘Opinions 
of  One  Hundred  Physicians  on  the  Use  of  Opium  in  China.”  For  many 
years  has  acted  as  treasurer  of  the  Anti-Opium  League  of  China.] 

1 . Opium  users  do  not  need  a long  time  for  tapering  off. 

2.  Where  necessary  it  should  be  accomplished  by  hospital  treatment 
and  not  by  opium  dens.  If  opium  could  be  absolutely  withdrawn  from  the 
country,  over  ninety  of  the  present  opium  users  would  need  no  treatment 
at  all.  They  might  suffer  for  a few  days,  but  in  a short  time  they  would 
be  like  new  men,  and  would  be  a thousand  times  better  off  without  opium 
than  they  can  ever  be  with  it. 

3.  Government  should  absolutely  prohibit  the  sale  of  all  opium  cures 
containing  opium. 

4.  During  the  present  state  of  medical  practice  in  China,  abuse  of 
the  exceptions  allowing  opium  to  be  prescribed  by  physicians  can  not  be 
safeguarded.  Government  should  raise  the  standard  of  the  medical  practice 
and  allow  only  registered  medical  men  to  prescribe  opium  to  their  patients. 
This  privilege  will  be  abused,  though,  unless  some  way  can  be  devised  for 
holding  the  doctor  responsible. 

President  Roosevelt, 

Washington,  D.  C., 

Dear  Sir:- 

I have  been  asked  by  Rev.  Wilbur  F.  Crafts  to  write  you  as  to  my 
opinion  of  the  ‘ ‘tapering  off”  of  opium  users  in  ten  years,  five  years  or  three 
or  other  long  periods,  from  the  standpoint  of  a medical  man  familiar 
by  reading  and  practice  with  opium  cases. 

I do  not  believe  in  the  tapering  off  plan.  We  are  supposed  to  be  taper- 
ing in  Soochow  now  under  a notice  to  close  all  opium  dens  in  six  months, 
but,  though  the  time  is  nearly  up,  the  tapering  has  not  yet  begun.  As  a 
rule,  opium  smokers  never  taper  off.  The  tendency  is  all  the  other  way,  and 
they  will  smoke  their  full  amount  as  long  as  they  can  get  it,  if  the  heavens 
fall.  This  is  just  as  true  of  those  who  daily  smoke  a small  amount  as  those 
who  smoke  a large.  All  are  sots  and  time  given  them  to  taper  off  in  is  just 
so  much  time  thrown  away. 

The  suffering  from  stopping  at  once  may  be  rather  severe  in  many 
cases,  but  it  does  not  last  many  days  and  is  not  in  itself  dangerous  to  life. 
Chinese  patients  often  ask  me  to  “pull  their  teeth  5/ow  and  easy."  Imagine 
how  it  would  feel  if  I should  listen  to  their  appeals.  So  with  the  opium 

7 


habit — it  must  be  eradicated,  and  the  quicker  it  is  pulled  out  by  the  roots 
the  better  for  all  parties  concerned.  Most  respectfully  yours, 

W.  H.  Park. 

David  T.  Stuart,  M.  D.,  Superintendent,  Eli?abeth  Blake  Hospital, 

American  Presb5derian  Mission,  South,  Soochow,  China,  June  1 8,  1907: 

We  treat  an  average  of  two  hundred  opium  smokers  in  our  hospital  a 
year,  and  my  answers  are  based  on  an  experience  covering  eight  years  in 
Soochow. 

1.  From  two  to  three  weeks  treatment  after  a sudden  breaking  off  or 
rather  stoppage  of  opium  gives  the  best  results,  and  the  patients  suffer 
very  little  pain  or  discomfort  during  this  time. 

2.  Hospital  treatment  is  the  only  satisfactory  method.  Opium  dens 
should  all  be  closed  at  once. 

3.  The  government  should  absolutely  prohibit  the  sale  of  ‘ ‘anti-opium 
pills”  and  other  “opium  cures”.  They  all  contain  opium  in  one  form  or 
another  and  it  simply  means  continuing  the  use  of  opium  in  another  form. 
It  is  not  a cure  by  any  means,  and  simply  dupes  the  victim  and  makes  him 
a worse  slave  to  the  habit. 

4.  This  is  a hard  question  to  answer.  Any  physician  can  prescribe 
opium  in  any  prescription  and  defend  himself  by  saying  the  patient  needs 
it.  It  all  depends  on  the  honesty  of  the  physician.  The  only  safeguard 
I know  of  is  to  raise  the  ethics  of  the  profession  and  take  away  the  license 
of  any  physician  found  guilty  of  ordering  opium  for  a patient  when  he  does 
so  simply  to  satisfy  his  craving  for  the  drug. 

The  subject  you  are  taking  up  is  certainly  a very  interesting 

ONE  AND  ON  ITS  SUCCESS  IN  A LARGE  MEASURE  DEPENDS  THE  FUTURE  OF 
THIS  GREAT  NATION.  TaKE  AWAY  OPIUM  FROM  THE  CHINESE  ANDWHO  CAN 
TELL  WHAT  A POWERFUL  PEOPLE  THEY  WILL  BE?” 


John  MacWillie,  M.  D.,  St.  Peter’s  Hospital,  American  Church  Mission 
Wuchang,  Via  Hankow,  China,  June  21,  1907: 

1.  In  my  five  years  active  practice  in  China  I have  treated  most  of 
my  breaking  off  opium  cases  by  the  radical  method,  i.  e.,  by  immediate 
and  total  deprivation  of  opium  in  any  form,  and  the  balance  of  my  patients 
by  the  gradual  method,  i.  e.  by  reducing  the  amount  of  the  alkaloid  each  day 
for  ten  days,  when  only  water  is  given. 

The  only  obstinate  case  is  one  at  present  under  my  care  whom  I have 
treated  by  the  radical  method.  He  has  been  addicted  to  the  habit  for 
over  20  years  and  has  been  under  treatment  for  15  days. 

2.  Hospital  treatment. 

3.  Prohibition. 

4.  Effective  safeguard  impossible  as  there  is  practically  no  Chinese 
medical  profession  and  no  registration  of  those  who  take  upon  themselves 
the  calling. 


8 


James  L.  Maxwell,  M.  D.  Lond.,  Tainan,  Formosa,  June  22,  1907, 

English  Presbyterian  Mission: 

1.  The  method  used  should  be  that  of  immediately  and  completely 
cutting  off  the  supply  of  the  drug.  The  only  exception  to  this  rule  is  when 
the  habitue  of  the  drug  is  very  seriously  ill  from  some  other  cause,  in  which 
case  the  opium  should  be  continued  till  convalescence  is  established,  and 
then  the  same  rule  followed. 

2.  The  answer  to  this  is  implied  in  the  answer  to  the  first  question. 

3.  No  “opium  cures”  containing  opium  or  its  alkaloids  should  under 
any  circumstances  be  allowed  to  be  offered  for  public  sale. 

4.  No  safeguards  are  needed  so  long  as  the  word  “physician”  implies 
a registered  practitioner  holding  the  qualifications  of  some  reputable  school. 

J.  G.  Meadows,  M.  D.,  Wuchow,  American  Southern  Baptist  Mission, 

via  Canton,  China,  June  23,  1907: 

1.  “A  long  period  for  tapering  off”  is  not  needed.  The  cure  must  be 
radical  and  immediate,  but  opium  in  some  form  will  very  often  be  required 
for  a few  days.  The  large  majority  do  not  need  any  opium  while  taking 
the  cure. 

2.  The  treatment  will  have  to  be  done  in  hospitals  or  institutions  for 
the  special  purpose  to  make  it  most  effective.  Many  do  break  off  without 
any  treatment  at  all. 

3.  The  most  radical  measures  possible  should  be  taken  to  suppress 
the  sale  of  opium  or  its  compounds  in  pill  form.  It  is  far  more  injurious 
than  opium  smoking  and  is  at  present  quite  general. 

4.  Physicians  as  a class  are  no  better  than  other  men  and  if  business 
men  require  safeguards,  so  do  all  classes  of  men.  A physician  proven  to 
have  abused  his  privilege  as  a physician  to  prescribe  opium  should  be 
prohibited  from  practising  medicine. 

E.  L.  Woodward,  M.  D.,  H.  B.  Taylor,  M.  D.,  St.  James  Hospital,  Amer- 
ican Church  Mission,  Nganking,  China,  June  24,  1907: 

1.  The  tapering  off  method  is  only  required  when  the  patient  is  ex- 
tremely debilitated.  The  ordinary  case  can  be  broken  off  immediately 
and  without  serious  difficulty  or  any  danger  if  under  medical  supervision. 
The  tapering  off  method,  whether  used  for  those  extremely  debilitated 
or  for  those  attempting  to  break  off  the  habit  without  medical  supervision 
and  restraint,  should  not  be  prolonged  beyond  about  twenty  days. 

2.  By  hospital  treatment  exclusively. 

3.  To  be  effective,  government  action  must  be  rigidly  uncompromis- 
ing and  therefore  the  alleged  opium  cures  that  continue  the  use  of  opium 
in  pills  or  other  forms  should  be  exposed  by  government  analysis  and  sup- 
pressed except  when  used  under  medical  supervision. 

4.  The  prescribing  of  opium  preparations  should  be  restricted  to  the 
duly  licensed  practitioner,  and  the  abuse  of  the  privilege  should  be  followed 
by  a heavy  fine. 


9 


B.  L.  Livingstone-Learmonth,  M.  B.,  C.  M.,  Edin.,  Irish  Presbyterian 

Mission  Hospital,  Hsin  Min  fu,  via  N’Chwang,  Manchuria,  June  25, 1907: 

1.  Opium  users  do  not  need  a long  period  for  breaking  off. 

2.  Opium  shops  would  be  useless. 

The  breaking  off  is  attended  with  considerable  discomfort  and  should 
be  undertaken  in  hospitals  where  the  various  symptoms  may  be  treated 
as  they  arise. 

3.  The  government  sanitary  inspector  should  have  the  various  pills 
examined  and  if  they  contain  opium  they  should  be  under  the  same  embargo 
as  the  opium  of  the  opium  dens. 

4.  When  there  is  a government  diploma  necessary  for  all  medical 
practitioners,  it  will  be  time  enough  to  discuss  this  point. 


Henry  Fowler,  London  Mission  Hospital  and  Leper  Home,  Hsiao-kan, 

via  Hankow,  Central  China,  June  29,  1907: 

1.  My  experience  is  that  the  majority  of  opium  users  suffer  no  ill 
effects  by  breaking  the  habit  suddenly.  My  own  practice  is  to  allow  one 
week.  At  the  end  of  that  time  I invariably  find  that  the  desire  for  smoking 
the  drug  is  gone.  The  patient  remains  in  hospital  for  a further  period  of 
two  weeks  to  undergo  medical  treatment.  As  a rule  the  patient  is  enfeebled 
and  requires  tonics  and  a generous  diet. 

I have  a little  hesitancy  when  one  comes  to  old  men,  chronic  smokers. 
I have  been  disappointed  in  some  cases  to  find  that  the  sudden  giving  up  of 
the  habit  has  meant  the  death  of  the  patient. 

2.  For  this  reason  I earnestly  recommend  for  such  patients  Hospital 
treatment  under  fully  qualified  medical  men  or  women.  The  older  the 
patient  the  more  necessary  the  medical  treatment.  I am  firmly  convinced 
that  the  habit  can  be  given  up  if  care  is  taken  in  treating  the  case.  The 
harm  results  from  carelessness.  Constant  watching  of  the  cardiac  and 
pulmonary  apparatus  is  necessary. 

3.  I am  entirely  opposed  to  the  anti-opium  pill.  Invariably  it  means 
that  the  user  is  taking  an  even  larger  quantity  of  morphia  or  opium  than 
previously.  I have  made  a collection  of  these  pills  as  sold  on  the  street 
in  this  city  and  find  that  they  all  contain  opium  or  its  derivatives. 
The  government  must  on  no  account  allow  the  sale  of  these  pills. 

4.  In  China  there  are  so  few  qualified  Chinese  doctors  that  it  would  be 
safe  to  say  that  no  one  but  physicians  connected  with  hospital  prac- 
tice SHOULD  USE  OPIUM  AS  A MEDICINE.  All  native  drug  stores  should  be 
fined  for  stocking  or  selling  it.  The  greatest  offender  in  this  part  of  China, 
is  Japan.  Her  medical  quacks  are  to  be  found  all  over  central  China.  They 
derive  their  greatest  fees  from  these  so  called  “opium  cure  pills.”  If  any- 
thing can  be  done  to  protect  China  from  these  quacks  so  much  the  better. f 

*Missionaries  and  others  should  urge  that  wherever  opium  cases  are 
numerous,  in  China,  the  Philippines,  India,  and  in  large  parts  of  New  Zealand, 


10 


James  Menzies,  M.  D.,  Hwai  Ch’ing  fu,  Honan,  China,  July  2,  1907: 

Canadian  Presbyterian  Mission. 

Have  been  a medical  missionary  in  North  China  for  nearly  12  years 
in  the  Province  of  Honan,  and  have  during  that  time  had  considerable 
experience  with  patients  breaking  off  the  opium  habit. 

1 . In  many  cases  sudden  stopping  of  opium  would  mean  the  death  of 
the  user  where  the  habit  has  become  confirmed,  unless  he  were  looked  after 
in  some  hospital.  I have,  however,  even  with  the  worst  cases  of  late 
stopped  their  opium  at  once  on  entering  the  hospital,  but  have  carefully 
looked  after  them  with  stimulants  till  they  were  able  to  sleep  and  digest 
natural  food.  In  my  humble  opinion  this  tapering  off  business  will  in  most 
cases  mean  tapering  on  instead  of  tapering  off. 

2.  I would  close  every  opium  den  in  the  kingdom  at  once.  While 
these  exist  the  people  will  never  break  off  the  habit,  and  those  who  have 
broken  off  will  begin  again.  Proper  hospital  treatment  is,  I am  sure,  far 
more  sane  and  more  likely  to  be  effectual. 

3.  The  government  should  prohibit  the  sale  of  opium  cures  containing 
opium.  The  country  is  at  present  being  flooded  with  such.  They  do  not 
cure  the  opium  craving,  but  merely  substitute  the  habit  of  opium  eating 
for  opium  smoking,  and  the  last  end  of  that  man  is  worse  than  the  first. 
The  government  should  take  a lesson  from  the  experience  of  the  United 
States  and  Canada,  and  prohibit  the  sale  of  patent  medicines  whose 
FORMULA  IS  NOT  PLAINLY  PRINTED  ON  THE  LABEL.  Medical  missionaries 
would  not  abuse  the  privileges,  but  unscrupulous  native  doctors  might, 
and  some  legislation  along  that  line  might  be  found  necessary. 

Bran  V.  SomerinTaylor,  M.  B.,  (Nearly  29  years  medical  missionary  in 

China),  Hing  Hua,  Foochow,  July  6,  1907: 

American  Church  Missionary  Society. 

1 . Opium  users  do  not  need  a long  period  for  tapering  off. 

2.  No  continuance  of  opium  dens.  They  simply  perpetuate  the  evil. 
Sweep  them  off  the  face  of  China. 

3.  Prohibit  all  such  pills.  They  are  useless  and  delude  the  patient. 

4.  Very  difficult  to  answer.  At  first  sight,  it  seems  that  a law  pro- 
hibiting the  use  of  opium  or  morphine  except  by  physicians  in  prescriptions 
would  guard  against  abuse,  but  until  the  Chinese  register  their  physicians 
such  a plan  is  useless,  unless  they  confine  the  use  of  opium  to  foreign  quali- 
fied physicians,  which  one  could  hardly  ask  them  to  do.  The  only  plan  that 
I can  think  of  is  that  the  Customs  keep  track  of  all  imported  opium  or 
morphia  and  follow  it  up  as  far  as  possible. 

Australia,  South  Africa,  Haw'aii  and  the  United  States,  the  administering  of 
opium  as  a medicine  to  Chinese  should  be  limited  to  public  hospitals. 

fHere  is  a subject  on  which  missionaries  and  ambassadors  in  Japan 
should  approach  the  Mikados’  Government,  through  the  high-minded 
Foreign  Secretary  Count  Hyashi.  The  large  exportation  of  hyperdermic 
syringes  from  Japan  to  China  (probably  to  the  Philippines  also  since  the 
prohibition  of  opium  there  Mar.  i,  1908)  should  be  a subject  of  courteous 
but  earnest  protest.  And  the  promotion  of  opium  using  as  well  as  gambling 
in  Korea  and  Formosa  by  the  Japanese,  who  vigorously  suppress  both  evils 
in  Japan,  should  be  opposed  by  the  new  and  almost  omnipotent  force,  in- 
ternational public  opinion.  W.  F.  C. 


Chas.  W.  Service,  M.  D.,  Canadian  Methodist  Mission,  Kiating  via 

Chung  king,  China,  Aug.  i8,  1907: 

1.  Opium  patients  do  not  need  a long  period  for  tapering  off.  Many 
suffer,  more  or  less,  for  the  first  few  days,  but  two  or  three  weeks  are  usually 
ample  for  treatment  in  hospital.  I do  not  think  there  is  any  danger  in 
breaking  off  suddenly,  although  most  patients  are  more  or  less  uncomfortable 
for  a few  days. 

2.  Give  them  from  two  to  four  weeks  hospital  treatment  by  all  means. 
Many  have  some  concurrent  disease  which  needs  treatment. 

3.  I think  the  government  should  forbid  the  sale  and  use  of  all  opium 
in  pills  or  other  forms.  Most,  if  not  all  of  the  so  called  opium  cures  sold 
on  the  streets  in  China  and  by  unlicensed  practitioners,  drug  shops,  etc. 
contain  opium  in  some  form  and  should  be  prohibited  under  penalty. 

4.  a.  Allow  only  qualified  physicians  to  prescribe.  This  rules  out 
quacks  and  allself-constituted  physicians,  including  Chinese  doctors,  except 
such  as  hold  diplomas  from  schools  of  scientific  medicine. 

h.  Allow  only  accredited  and  licensed  drug  stores  to  handle  it. 

c.  Allow  such  drug  stores  to  sell  it  only  as  above  mentioned  quali- 
physicians  prescribes  it. 

d.  Have  rigid  inspection  of  such  drug  stores. 

e.  Allow  no  import  of  opium  or  morphine  except  by  qualified  physi- 
cians and  licensed  drug  stores. 

Would  the  importation  into  China  of  patent  medicines,  cigarettes  and 
spirituous  liquors  be  in  line  with  the  work  of  the  International  Reform 
Bureau?  These  are  some  of  the  greatest  menaces  to  China.  There  is  no 
doubt  about  the  latter  two.  As  for  the  first,  the  patent  medicine  vendors 
are  going  to  find  here  a very  lucrative  field  for  the  exploitation  of  their  wares. 
The  Chinese  are  great  medicine  users  and  even  now  are  spending  no  small 
sum  in  buying  foreign  patent  medicines  and  proprietary  mixtures  of  doubt- 
ful worth.  As  years  pass  increasing  millions  of  dollars  will  be  wasted  or 
worse  than  wasted.  All  sorts  of  inert  and  harmful  preparations  will  be 
foisted  upon  the  millions  of  this  land  and  only  the  makers  and  vendors 
will  be  gainers. 


16 


[For  reason  of  inserting  this  document  see  closing  paragraph  of  Introduction.] 

Scientific  Testimony  on  Beer. 


From  Speech  by  Senator  J.  H.  Gallinger,  M. 

Opinions  of  Leading  Physicians. 

The  alarming  growth  of  the  use  of  beer 
among  our  people,  and  the  spreading  de- 
lusion among  many  who  consider  them- 
selves temperate  and  sober,  that  the  encour- 
agement of  beer  drinking  is  an  effective 
way  of  promoting  the  cause  of  temperance 
and  of  aiding  to  stamp  out  the  demon  rum, 
impelled  the  Toledo  Blade  to  send  a repre- 
sentative to  a number  of  the  leading  physi- 
cians of  Toledo  to  obtain  their  opinions  as 
to  the  real  damage  which  indulgence  in 
malt  liquors  does  the  victim  of  that  form 
of  intemperance. 

Every  one  is  not  only  a gentleman  of  the 
highest  personal  character,  but  is  a physi- 
cian whose  professional  abilities  have  been 
severely  tested,  and  received  the  stamp  of 
the  highest  indorsement  by  the  public  and 
their  professional  brethren.  More  skilful 
physicians  are  not  to  be  found  anywhere. 
Vv" e have  not  selected  those  of  known  tem- 
perance principles.  What  they  say  of  beer 
is  not  colored  by  any  feeling  for  or  against 
temperance,  but  is  the  cold,  bare  experience 
of  men  of  science  who  know  whereof  they 
speak. 

A Beer  Drinking  City. 

Toledo  is  essentially  a beer  drinking  city. 
The  German  population  is  very  large.  Five 
of  the  largest  breweries  in  the  country  are 
here.  Probably  more  beer  is  drank,  in  pro- 
portion to  the  population,  than  in  any  other 
city  in  the  United  States.  The  practice  of 
these  physicians  is,  therefore,  largely 
among  beer  drinkers,  and  they  have  had 
abundant  opportunities  to  know  exactly  its 
bearings  on  health  and  disease. 

Every  one  bears  testimony  that  no  man 
can  drink  beer  safely,  that  it  is  an  injury 
to  any  one  who  uses  it  in  any  quantity, 
and  that  its  effect  on  the  general  health  of 
the  country  has  been  even  worse  than  that 
of  whiskey.  The  indictment  they  with  one 
accord  present  against  beer  drinking  is 
simply  terrible. 

The  devilfish  crushing  a man  in  his  long, 
winding  arms,  and  sucking  his  blood  from 
his  mangled  body,  is  not  so  frightful  an 
assailant  as  this  deadly  but  insidious  en- 


D.,  Congressioaal  Recerd,  January  9,  1901. 

emy,  which  fastens  itself  upon  its  victim, 
and  daily  beecrmes  more  and  more  the 
wretched  mreo’s  master,  and  finally  drag- 
ging him  to  his  grave  at  a time  when 
other  men  are  in  their  prime  of  mental  and 
bodily  vigor. 

Beer  Kills  Quicker  Than  Other  Liquor. 

Dr.  S.  H.  Burgen,  a practitioner  35  years, 
28  in  Toledo,  says : “I  think  beer  kills 
quicker  than  any  other  liquor.  My  atten- 
tion was  first  called  to  its  insidious  effects, 
when  I began  examining  for  life  insur- 
ance. I passed  as  unusually  good  risks 
five  Germans — ^young  business  men — who 
seemed  in  the  best  health,  and  to  have 
superb  constitutions.  In  a few  years  I was 
amazed  to  see  the  whole  five  drop  off,  one 
after  another,  with  what  ought  to  have 
heen  mild  and  easily  curable  diseases.  On 
comparing  my  experience  with  that  of 
other  physicians  I found  they  were  all  hav- 
ing similar  luck  with  confirmed  beer  drink- 
ers, and  my  practice  since  has  heaped  con- 
firmation on  confirmation. 

“The  first  organ  to  be  attacked  is  the 
kidneys ; the  liver  soon  sympathizes,  and 
then  comes,  most  frequently,  dropsy  or 
Bright’s  disease,  both  certain  to  end  fatally. 
Any  physician,  who  cares  to  take  the  time, 
will  tell  you  that  among  the  dreadful  re- 
sults of  beer  drinking  are  lockjaw  and  ery- 
sipelas, and  that  the  beer  drinker  seems 
incapable  of  recovering  from  mild  dis- 
orders and  injuries  not  usually  regarded  of 
a grave  character.  Pneumonia,  pleurisy, 
fevers,  etc.,  seem  to  have  a first  mortgage 
on  him,  which  they  foreclose  remorselessly 
at  an  early  opportunity. 

Beer  Worse  Than  Whiskey. 

“The  beer  drinker  5s  much  worse  off 
than  the  whiskey  drinker,  who  seems  to 
have  more  elasticity  and  reserve  power. 
He  will  even  have  delirium  tremens ; but 
after  the  fit  is  gone  you  will  sometimes 
find  good  material  to  work  upon.  Good 
management  may  bring  him  around  all 
right.  But  when  a beer  drinker  gets  into 
trouble  it  seems  almost  as  if  you  have  to 
recreate  the  man  before  you  can  do  any- 
thing for  him.  I have  talked  this  for 
years,  and  have  had  abundance  of  living 
and  dead  instances  around  me  to  support 
my  opinions.” 


1 


Beer  Drinking  Shortens  Life. 

Dr.  S.  S.  Lungren,  a leading  homeo- 
pathic physician  and  surgeon,  has  prac- 
ticed in  Toledo  25  years:  “It  is  difficult  to 
find  any  part  of  the  confirmed  beer 
drinker’s  machinery  that  is  doing  its  work 
as  it  should.  This  is  why  their  life  cords 
snap  off  like  glass  rods  when  disease  or 
accident  gives  them  a little  blow.  Beer 
drinking  shortens  life.  This  is  not  a mere 
opinion ; it  is  a well  settled,  recognized 
fact.  Physicians  and  insurance  companies 
accept  this  as  unquestionably  as  any  other 
undisputed  fact  of  science.  The  great 
English  physicians  decide  that  the  heart’s 
action  is  increased  13  per  cent,  in  its  efforts 
to  throw  off  alcohol  introduced  into  the 
circulation.  The  result  is  easily  figured 
out.  The  natural  pulse-beat  is,  say,  76  per 
minute.  If  we  multiply  this  by  60  minutes 
in  an  hour,  and  24  hours  in  a day,  and  add 
13  per  cent.,  we  find  that  the  heart  has 
been  compelled  to  do  an  extra  work  during 
that  time  in  throwing  off  the  burden  of  a 
few  drinks  (4.8  ounces  of  alcohol)  equal  to 
15.5  tons  lifted  one  foot  high.” 

Life  Insurance  Companies. 

“The  life  insurance  companies  make  a 
business  of  estimating  men’s  lives,  and  can 
only  make  money  by  making  correct  esti- 
mates of  whatever  influences  life.  Here  is 
a table  they  use  in  calculating  how  long  a 
normal,  healthy  man  will  probably  live 
after  a given  age: 

Age.  Expectancy.  Age.  Expectancy. 
20  years..  .41.5  years  50  years..  .20.2  years 
30  years..  .34.4  years  60  years..  .13.8  years 
40  years..  .28.3  years  65  years..  .11  years 

“Now  they  expect  a man  otherwise 
healthy,  who  is  addicted  to  beer,  will  have 
his  life  shortened  from  40  to  60  per  cent. 
For  instance,  if  he  is  20  years  old  and  does 
not  drink  beer,  he  may  reasonably  expect 
to  reach  the  age  of  61.  If  he  is  a beer 
drinker,  he  will  probably  not  live  to  be  over 
40  or  45,  and  so  on.” 

Beer  Drinking  and  Longevity. 

The  President  of  the  Connecticut  Mutual 
Life  Insurance  Company — one  of  the  old- 
est in  the  country — has  for  years  been  in- 
vestigating the  relation  of  beer  drinking  to 
longevity ; or  otherwise,  whether  beer 
drinkers  are  desirable  risks  to  a life  insur- 
ance company. 

He  declared,  as  the  result  of  a series  of 
observations  carried  on  among  a selected 
group  of  persons  who  were  habitual  drink- 
ers of  beer,  that  although  for  two  or  three 
years  there  was  nothing  remarkable,  yet 
presently  death  began  to  strike,  and  then 
the  mortality  became  astounding  and  uni- 
form in  its  manifestations.  Ihere  was  no 


mistaking  it;  the  history  was  almost  in- 
variable ; robust,  apparent  health,  full 
muscles,  a fair  outside,  increasing  weight, 
florid  faces ; then  a touch  of  cold  or  a sniff 
of  malaria,  and  instantly  some  acute  dis- 
ease, with  almost  invariable  typhoid  symp- 
toms, was  in  violent  action,  and  ten  days 
or  less  ended  it.  It  was  as  if  the  system 
had  been  kept  fair  on  the  outside,  while 
within  it  was  eaten  to  a shell,  and  at  the 
first  touch  of  disease  there  was  utter  col- 
lapse, every  fiber  was  poisoned  and  weak. 
And  this  in  its  main  features,  varying  in 
degree,  has  been  his  observation  in  beer 
drinking  everywhere.  It  is  peculiarly  de- 
ceptive at  first ; it  is  thoroughly  destructive 
at  the  last. 

Beer  Drinkers  Unpromising  Patients. 

Dr.  J.  T.  Woods:  “That  confirmed  beer 
drinkers  are  especially  unpromising  pa- 
tients, all  practical  surgeons  agree.” 

Dr.  S.  S.  Lungren : “Alcohol  invites  at- 
tacks of  disease,  and  makes  recovery  from 
any  attack  or  injury  difficult.” 

Dr.  C.  A.  Kirkley : “Sickness  is  always 
more  fatal  in  beer  drinkers,  and  serious 
accidents  are  usually  fatal  to  them.” 

Dr.  S.  H.  Burgen : “Beer  drinkers  are 
absolutely  the  most  dangerous  class  of  sub- 
jects a surgeon  can  operate  on.  Insignifi- 
cant scratches  are  liable  to  develop  a long 
train  of  dangerous  troubles.  Sometimes 
delirium  tremens  results  from  a small  hurt. 
It  is  dangerous  for  a beer  drinker  to  even 
cut  his  finger.  All  surgeons  hesitate  to 
perform  operations  on  a beer  drinker  that 
they  would  undertake  with  the  greatest 
confidence  on  anyone  else.” 

“A  Little  Circle  of  Doctors.” 

Dr.  S.  S.  Thorne : “If  you  could  drop 
into  a little  circle  of  doctors,  when  they  are 
having  a quiet,  professional  chat,  you 
would  hear  enough  in  a few  minutes  to 
terrify  you  as  to  the  work  of  beer.  One 
will  say,  ‘What’s  become  of  So-and-So? 
I haven’t  seen  him  around  lately?’  ‘Oh, 
he’s  dead.’  ‘Dead ! What  was  the  mat- 
ter?’ ‘Beer.’  Another  will  say,  ‘I’ve  just 
come  from  Blank’s.  I am  afraid  its  about 
my  last  call  on  him,  poor  fellow.’  ‘What’s 
the  trouble?’  ‘On,  he’s  been  a regular  beer 
drinker  for  years.’  A third  will  remark 

how has  just  gone  out  like  a candle 

in  a draft  of  wind.  ‘Beer’  is  the  reason 
given.  And  so  on,  till  half  a dozen  physi- 
cians have  mentioned  fifty  recent  cases 
where  apparently  strong,  hearty  men,  at 
a time  of  life  when  they  should  be  in  their 
prime,  have  suddenly  dropped  into  the 
grave.  To  say  they  are  habitual  beer 
drinkers  is  sufficient  explanation  to  any 
physician.” 


2 


Beer  Drinking  Produces  Rheumatism. 

Dr.  W.  T.  Ridenour:  “Beer  drinking 
produces  rheumatism  by  producing  chronic 
congestion  and  ultimately  degeneration  of 
the  liver,  thus  interfering  with  its  function 
by  which  the  food  is  elaborated  and  fitted 
for  the  sustenance  of  the  body.” 

Dr.  S.  H.  Burgen : “All  beer  drinkers 
have  rheumatism,  more  or  less,  and  no  one 
can  recover  from  it  as  long  as  he  drinks 
beer.  Notice  how  a beer  drinker  walks 
about  stiff  on  his  heels,  without  any  of  the 
natural  elasticity  and  spring  from  the  toes 
and  ball  of  the  foot  that  a healthy  man 
should  have.  That  is  because  the  beer  in- 
creases the  lithia  deposits  about  the  smaller 
joints.” 

Beer  Cripples  the  Liver. 

Dr.  S.  H.  Burgen:  “The  first  effect  on 
the  liver  is  to  congest  and  enlarge  it. 
Then  follows  a low  grade  of  inflammation 
and  subsequent  contraction  of  the  capsules, 
producing  ‘hob-nailed’  or  drunkard’s  liver, 
the  surface  covered  with  little  lumps  that 
look  like  nail  heads  on  the  soles  of  shoes. 
This  develops  dropsy.  The  congestion  of 
the  liver  clogs  up  all  the  springs  of  the 
body,  and  makes  all  sorts  of  exertion  as 
difficult  and  labored  as  it  would  be  to  run 
a clock,  the  wheels  of  which  were  covered 
with  dirt  and  gum.” 

Liable  to  Die  of  Pneumonia, 

Dr.  W.  T.  Ridenour:  “Beer  drinkers  are 
peculiarly  liable  to  die  of  pneumonia. 
Their  vital  power,  their  power  of  resist- 
ance, is  so  lowered  that  they  are  liable  to 
drop  off  from  any  form_  of  acute  disease, 
such  as  fevers,  pneumonia,  etc.  As  a rule 
when  a beer  drinker  takes  the  pneumonia, 
he  dies. 

“My  first  patient  was  a saloon  keeper,  as 
fine  a looking  man  physically  as  I had  ever 
seen — tall,  well  built,  about  thirty-five,  with 
clear  eyes,  florid  complexion,  muscles  well 
developed.  He  had  an  attack  of  pneu- 
monia in  the  lower  lobe  of  the  right  lung, 
a simple,  well-defined  case,  which  I re- 
garded very  hopefully.  Doctors  are  confi- 
dent of  saving  nineteen  out  of  twenty  such 
cases.  I told  my  partner  so  in  the  even- 
ing. To  my  surprise  he  said  quietly,  ‘He’ll 
die.’  I asked  what  made  him  think  so. 
Tie  is  a beer  drinker,’  he  answered.  My 
patient  began  to  recover  from  the  attack 
on  the  lower  lobe.  Suddenly  the  disease 
lighted  up  in  the  middle  lobe.  Finally  it 
attacked  the  other  lung,  and  my  patient 
succumbed.” 


Dropsy  Induced  by  Beer  Drinking. 

Dr.  M.  H.  Parmalee,  physician  and  sur- 
geon twelve  years  in  Toledo,  says:  “The 
majority  of  saloon  keepers  die  from  dropsy, 
arising  from  kidney  and  liver  diseases,  in- 
duced by  beer  drinking.  My  experience 
has  been  that  saloon  keepers  and  men 
working  around  breweries  are  very  liable 
to  these  diseases.  When  one  of  those  ap- 
parently stalwart,  beery  fellows  is  attacked 
by  a disorder  that  would  not  be  regarded 
as  at  all  dangerous  in  a person  of  ordinary 
constitution,  or  even  a delicate,  weakly 
child  or  woman,  he  is  liable  to  drop  off  like 
an  over-ripe  apple  from  a tree.  You  are 
never  sure  of  him  a minute.  He  may  not 
be  dangerously  sick  today,  and  tomorrow 
be  in  his  shroud.  Most  physicians,  like 
myself,  dread  being  called  upon  to  take 
charge  of  a sick  man  who  is  an  habitual 
beer  drinker.  The  form  of  Bright’s  dis- 
ease known  as  the  swollen  or  large  white 
kidney  is  much  more  freauent  among  beer 
drinkers  than  any  other  class  of  people.” 

Insanity  Caused  by  Beer  Drinking. 

Dr.  S.  S.  Lungren:  “The  brain  and  its 
membranes  suffer  severely,  and  after  irri- 
ta.tion  and  inflammation  comes  dullness 
and  stupidity.  There  is  no  question  in  my 
mind  that  many  brain  diseases  and  cases 
of  insanity  are  caused  by  excessive  beer 
drinking.” 

Dr.  C.  A.  Kirkley:  “Under  its  influence 
the  mental  powers  are  more  inactive  than 
the  physical.  There  is  hardly  a single 
cause  that  operates  more  powerfully  in  the 
production  of  insanity;  and  not  only  that, 
but  it  excites  the  action  of  other  causes 
that  may  be  present.” 

Bright’s  Disease  Due  to  Beer. 

Dr.  W.  T.  Ridenour:  “I  have  no  doubt 
the  rapid  spread  of  Bright’s  disease  is 
largely  due  to  beer  drinking.  I have  al- 
ways believed  that  Bayard  Taylor  fell  a 
victim  to  the  German  beer  that  he  praised 
so  highly.  He  died  of  Bright’s  disease  at 
50,  when  he  should  have  lived,  with  his 
constitution,  to  a ripe  old  age.  He  went 
just  as  beer  drinkers  are  going  all  the 
time  and  everywhere.” 

Dr.  C.  A.  Kirkley : “I  believe  that  forty- 
nine  out  of  fifty  cases  of  chronic  Bright’s 
disease  are  directly  produced  by  it.  I have 
never  met  with  a case  in  which  the  patient 
has  not  been  intemperate  to  a greater  or 
less  degree.  The  proportion  may  be  too 
high,  but  that  is  certainly  my  experience. 
Mr.  Christian,  a celebrated  author,  states 
that  three-fourths  to  four-fifths  of  the 
cases  met  with  in  Edinburgh  were  in  hab- 
itual drunkards.” 


3 


An  Artificial  Prop. 

Dr.  C.  A.  Kirkley,  in  constant  practice 
in  Toledo  IS  years,  says:  “I  do  not  be- 
lieve the  healthy  organism  needs  an  arti- 
ficial prop  to  sustain  it.  Depression  below 
the  standard  of  health  always  follows  just 
in  proportion  as  the  system  is  stimulated 
above  that  standard.  Every  physician  is 
familiar  with  cases  in  which  nervous  wear 
and  tear  in  an  active  life  has  been  kept  up 
by  stimulants  without  apparent  loss  of 
power  for  years.  Bodily  and  mental  vigor, 
however,  suddenly  fail.  The  repeated  ap- 
plication of  the  stimulus  that  the  exertion 
might  be  prolonged  has  really  expended  the 
power  of  the  nervous  system,  and  prepared 
him  for  more  complete  prostration.  The 
temporary  advantage  was  purchased  at  a 
great  cost.  The  greater  the  expenditure  of 
nervous  power  by  the  use  of  stimulants, 
the  more  complete  the  exhaustion.” 

Children  of  Drunkards — Idiots, 

Dr.  C.  A.  Kirkley:  “Plutarch  says, 
‘One  drunkard  begets  another;’  and  Aris- 
totle, ‘Drunken  women  bring  forth  chil- 
dren like  unto  themselves.’  A report  was 
made  to  the  legislature  of  Massachusetts,  I 
think  by  Dr.  Howe,  on  idiocy.  He  had 
learned  the  habits  of  the  parents  of  300 
idiots,  and  145,  nearly._half,  are  reported  as 
known  to  be  habitual  drunkards,  showing 
the  enfeebled  constitution  of  the  children 
of  drunkards.  I have  in  mind  an  instance 
where  children  born  to  the  mother,  begot- 
ten when  the  father  was  intoxicated,  all 
died  within  eight  months  of  birth.  They 
wou’d  have  recovered,  had  they  not  had 
the  enfeebled  constitution  inherited  from 
their  intemperate  father.  Instances  are  re- 
corded where  both  parents  were  intoxi- 
cated at  the  time  of  conception,  and  the 
result  was  an  idiot.  There  is  not  a doubt 
but  that  inebriety  not  only  makes  more 
destructive  whatever  taint  may  exist,  but 
irrjpairs  the  health  and  natural  vigor  for 
remote  generations.” 

“A  Crop  of  Lunatics.” 

Dr,  A.  McFarland  : “That  ‘the  iniquities 
of  the  lathers  are  visited  upon  the  child- 


dren;’  that  ‘the  fathers  have  eaten  souf 
grapes  and  the  children’s  teeth  are  set  on 
edge,’  are  truths  that  no  Scripture  is 
needed  to  teach.  In  other  words,  he  who 
sins  through  physical  excess  does  not  do 
half  the  harm  to  himself  that  he  does  to 
the  inheritors  of  his  blood.  The  penalty 
must  be  paid  as  sure  as  there  is  seed  time 
and  harvest. 

“It  is  your  stout  old  hero,  who  goes  to 
bed  every  night  with  liquor  enough  under 
his  belt  to  fuddle  the  brains  of  a half 
dozen  ordinary  men,  and  yet  lives  out  his 
three-score  and  ten,  that  will  be  found  at 
the  head  of  the  stock  that  pour  into  the 
world,  generation  after  generation,  such  a 
crop  of  lunatics,  epileptics,  eccentrics,  and 
inebriates  as  we  often  see.  The  impunity 
with  which  one  so  constituted  will  violate 
all  physical  law  gets  its  set-off  in  a suc- 
ceeding generation,  when  the  great  harvest 
begins.” 

Only  One  Safe  Course. 

Dr.  J.  T.  Woods:  “That  beer  is  foreign 
to  nature’s  demand  is  plainly  evident.  The 
whole  organism  at  once  sets  about  its  re- 
moval. Every  channel  through  which  it 
can  be  got  rid  of  is  brought  into  play,  and 
does  not  cease  till  the  last  trace  is  gone. 
Reaching  a certain  end  depends  only  on 
the  frequency  of  the  repetition.  The  whole 
is  made  up  of  the  parts ; every  drink  counts 
one.  These  ‘ones’  added  together  make  the 
wreck;  to  secure  this  result  it  is  only 
necessary  to  make  the  single  numbers  suf- 
ficient. Each  leaves  its  footprints  in  one 
way  or  another ; and  the  idea  that,  because 
you  stop  before  you  stagger,  the  system 
takes  no  note  of  the  damaging  material 
you  put  into  it  is  a ruinous  delusion.” 

Dr.  S.  H.  Burgen : “I  have  told  you  the 
frozen  truth — cold,  calm,  scientific  facts, 
such  as  the  profession  everywhere  recog- 
nizes as  absolute  truths.  I do  not  regard 
beer  drinking  as  safe  for  any  one.  It  is  a 
dangerous,  aggressive  evil  that  no  one  can 
tamper  with  with  any  safety  to  himself. 
There  is  only  one  safe  course,  and  that  is 
to  let  it  alone  entirely.” 


Vie  invite  those  who  appreciate  the  danger  that  beer  and  cigarettes  and  opram 

pills  will  be  substituted  for  recently  prohibited  ooium  smoking  by  the  hundred  millions 
of  Chinese  in  China  and  the  Philippines  and  the  British  colonies,  to  contribute  generoi^- 
ly  for  the  free  circulation  of  these  medical  testimonies  on  opium  and  beer  among  the 
Chinese  everywhere  and  for  the  promotion  of  the  kindred  crusade,  already  well  begun 
by  seventeen  great  governments,  to  protect  uncivilized  and  newly  civilized  ra^s  against 
the  white  man’s  rum  and  opium.  Let  us  “seize  the  hour”  when  the  British  Govern- 
ment has  just  closed  the  opium  dens  in  Hong  Kong  and  Ceylon,  and  when  President 
Roosevelt  has  called  a Conference  of  nations  for  Shanghai,  Jan.  i,  1909,  to  consign  the 
opium  traffic  to  companionship  with  piracy  and  slavery  in  the  limbo  of  crimes  against 
civilization.  A few  thousand  of  this  document  have  been  printed  at  the  personal  cost 
of  the  compiler,  who  must  look  to  others  to  whom  a few  samples  are  sent  to  aid  in 
giving  the  large  circulation  in  English  and  Chinese  that  the  interests  of  philanthropy 
and  missions  require.  Address:  The  International  Reform  Bureau,  206  Penn’a  Av., 
s.  e.,  Washington,  D.  C. 


4 


